Southern Cassowary

Southern Cassowary
ヒクイドリ
Character Data
Romaji		Hikuidori
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Animal Data
Scientific Name		Casuarius casuarius
Distribution		Oceania
Diet		Omnivore
Avg. Lifespan		20-40 years
Read More		Southern cassowary
Conservation

Southern Cassowary​

Festival​

KF3​

Nexon Game​

Stage Play​

Gallery

“I don't eat anything like fire. And on top of that, I'm being said to be a "dangerous person". How strange... even though I never intend to do anything dangerous. I just rupture toy balls when I kick them and make those I'm interested in fly away... I only want to spend my days peacefully... but why... I told you I don't eat fire!”
—Southern Cassowary's introduction

The Southern Cassowary is a type of bird Friend that first appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.

Appearance

Southern Cassowary wears a sleeveless blouse tucked into a high-waisted skirt with two tiers of pleating, with an inner layer of black plumage. She sports black arm warmers and thigh-high tan boots with laces. Around her neck are a blue scarf with black fringes and a blue bow with gradient red fringes at the ends of the ribbon, evoking a cassowary's wattles. She has long blue and cyan hair with two wing-like plumes that go down to her ears; atop her head is a large brown plume evoking the cassowary's signature casque.

Southern Cassowary's old design had short blue hair, with a half-black fringe. She wore a long blue and red furred scarf. Her outfit was a simple black shirt with long sleeves, a sailor-style collar with white stripes and a red tie. She had a wide miniskirt with fur around the edges, beige tights, and a pair of yellow boots.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role
2015	Nexon Game	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2018	Kemono Friends Festival	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2018	Kemono Friends Picross	Playable puzzle
2019	Kemono Friends 3	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2019	"JAPARI STAGE!" ~Big Ears and Small Miracles~	↪ Minor character

Minor Appearances

Kemono Friends Picross

Southern Cassowary appears in a puzzle of Kemono Friends Picross where the player can obtain a picture of the friend by solving a puzzle.

In Real Life

Southern cassowary (also known as the double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary and the two-wattled cassowary) at Wildlife Habitat, Port Douglas, Australia. Photo attributed to Michael Schmid.

The southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is a large flightless ratite endemic to Oceania, being found in southern Indonesia, southern Papua New Guinea, and pockets of coastal northeastern Australia. It is a sedentary inhabitant of rainforests, occasionally venturing into adjacent savanna forests, mangroves and fruit plantations. [1]

Southern cassowaries are primarily frugivorous, browsing the forest floor for fallen fruit. They will also eat insects, small vertebrates, and fungi, all of which are common among the leaf litter they forage through. The hard structure on the cassowary's skull, called a casque, may serve as a "crash helmet" for barging through thick, tangled vegetation, and/or may find use as a trowel to dig for buried food. [2] [3]

The large, robust body of the southern cassowary is carried by long, muscular legs. They can reach running speeds of up to 30mph, which serves as their first line of defense when threatened. Should these birds be unable to lose a pursuer, or when backed into a corner, they lash out with powerful, bone-crushing kicks, and can jump remarkably high to do so. Furthermore, the innermost toe of each foot bears a long, dagger-like claw capable of inflicting serious wounds.[3] Despite the bird's arsenal and reputation, it is generally timid; attacks on humans are rare and almost always a consequence of human actions, most notably hand-feeding, which—as with many wild animals—causes their fear of humans to diminish. This leads to more frequent encounters, heightening the odds of a violent interaction, and increased aggression from the animals involved due to behavioural shifts and the instinct to defend their food and/or their young. [4]

The southern cassowary is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List[1], but is considered Endangered within Australia by federal and state governments [5]. The species' greatest threats include human-induced habitat loss, road construction and subsequent car collisions, overhunting in certain areas, and predation of eggs and young by feral animals such as dogs. Consequent of these factors, there has been a 30% decline in southern cassowary numbers over the past three decades. Fortunately, conservation efforts are ongoing across the bird's native range. In Australia, southern cassowary habitat destruction has almost completely ceased, and most remaining habitat is within protected areas; in Papua New Guinea, there are large swaths of habitat where the bird is not hunted. Southern cassowaries will be safe as long as there are large areas of undisturbed forests.[2]

Additionally, Australian conservationists have enacted programs aimed at community education, localised habitat management, protection and revegetation, management plans for populations and high-risk individuals, surveys, translocation methods, and harmonious habitat use. Temporary feeding stations have been installed in damaged areas following cyclones in Australia.[1]

Trivia

• Cassowaries are among the only birds to have been recorded making very low vocalizations. There is some speculation about whether the casques on their heads are somehow related to the production and/or reception of these impressive sounds.

References

1. BirdLife International (2017). "Casuarius casuarius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

2. Dan Hulbert. "Animal diversity web: Casuarius casuarius". University of Michigan. Museum of Zoology.

3. "Double-Wattled Cassowary"

4. Kofron, Christopher P. (December 1999). "Attacks to humans and domestic animals by the southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) in Queensland, Australia". Journal of Zoology. 249 (4): 375–81. doi:[10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb01206.x]

5. "Species Profile and Threats Database". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australian Government. Retrieved 17 March 2024.